The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Today, a variety of computing devices, including many portable devices, support software applications that display interactive digital maps. For example, a user may operate a web browser to visit a web site maintained by a map service provider to view an interactive digital map of a certain geographic area.
Some map service providers allow registered users to personalize digital maps by adding markers at their favorite locations, drawing lines or shapes, specifying style preferences, activating certain “layers” of data (e.g., traffic, weather) and deactivating other layers, etc. After personalizing a map via the web site of the map service provider, a registered user can access the web site at a later time and view the personalized map content in addition to, or instead of, the standard map content.
In addition to displaying digital maps via a dedicated web site, a map service provider can provide a special-purpose software application (“mapping application”) developed specifically to display digital maps. A mapping application can run on a personal computer, a table computer, a smartphone, etc. Moreover, a map service provider can provide an application programming interface (API) for embedding an interactive digital map in a third-party web page. For example, a restaurant owner can create a web site that displays a menu, the hours of operation, etc. and also embeds a digital map in the web site using the API to indicate the location the restaurant. However, a user who personalized the digital map of a certain geographic area via the web site of the map service provider cannot access her personalized content when a third-party web site displays a digital map of the same geographic area using an API of the map service provider.